WC Countdown #7: When Kapil Dev upstaged King Viv

An underdog punching above its weight is something that always fascinates followers of cricket. One of the earliest such stories, when it came to ODI cricket, happened during the 1983 World Cup when 'Kapil's Devils' overcame some of the best teams in the World to lift the trophy for the first time. It was a roller-coaster journey for the Indian team, one that concluded with skipper Kapil lifted the Prudential World Cup trophy high atop the Lord's balcony. One of the proudest moments for any Indian cricketer or the ardent followers of the game in the country was made possible by the captain himself, who took a terrific catch to send back 'King' Viv Richards, which completely changed the course of the final.

Apart from being one of the strike bowlers in the side, Kapil's batting and fielding prowess also came to fore in the third edition of the multi-team event. While Kapil had done a decent job with the ball throughout the tournament, his batting also went to new levels when he registered the highest individual score of the tournament - a match-changing 175 against Zimbabwe in the league stage. While that was one of the most important knocks by an Indian player, the catch he took to send back the dangerous Richards is an indelible moment etched in the memory of Indian cricket fans.

Batting first, India could only manage a feeble total of 183 as Andy Roberts, Malcom Marshall, Michael Holding and Joel Garner combined to do a fine job with the ball. Although West Indies lost Gordon Greenidge early in their reply and Desmond Haynes also fell cheaply, Richards was sending the Indian bowlers on a leather hunt at the other end, flaying them to all parts of the park. Having crossed 30 in quick time, with the help of seven boundaries, Richards was taking the game quickly away from the Indians and West Indies were looking favourites to lift a hat-trick of world titles.

Not many would have fancied India to stage a comeback when Richards was going great guns. However, the catch that Kapil took lifted their spirits and there was no stopping the team from the sub-continent after that. It was just past the 12th over when Richards, on 33, miscued a hook off Madan Lal and the ball travelled towards mid-wicket. Kapil, stationed at mid-on ran back, and across to his right, but it appeared as though the ball would land well clear of him.

Any other fielder, especially one from the sub-continent, might have taken it easy, realising that there was quite a distance to cover. However, Kapil did not think so. With both hands cupped text-book style, the Indian captain held on to the ball safely, and did so quite comfortably at the end.What followed Kapil's brilliant catch was a spate of West Indian wickets going down. Larry Gomes, Clive Lloyd and Faoud Bacchus departed in quick succession, and from 57/3, West Indies slipped to 76/6. Jeff Dujon and Marshall tried to get the defending champions back on track, but they could not pull off anything special and India went on end West Indies' winning run in World Cup finals.